1. Fate

It was a beautiful summer day at the beach with my boyfriend Lucas. "Look the sun's about to set." The sky was a beautiful pink, yellow mix. I took in the sounds around me. The birds are chirping happily, the waves are crashing down on the land, and the trees are rustling from the wind. Lucas put his arm around me and pulled me in close.

"You know what makes it so much better?" I shook my head curiously. "Watching it set with the most beautiful girl in the world." My checks turn a rosy red from blushing.

"You’re the sweetest." We both smiled and I kissed his soft, luscious lips. I was completely and utterly in love with him. People say I'm only eighteen and I don't know what love is but I knew Lucas was the only guy for me.

"Come on, Abby, I should get you home now." We both got up from the soft, warm, salt and pepper looking sand. We strolled back home after that, my house was only a couple blocks away and the it felt nice walking in the slight cool breeze hitting your face as you kept going.

"Well here we are." I said as I looked into Lucas's gorgeous green eyes. He brushed my hair away from my face and kissed me softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I nodded as I walked into my house and closed the creaky, old wooden door behind me.

It was early in the afternoon when I woke up from my slumber. I looked at my phone and saw Lucas didn’t text me like he usually does which made me worried. I thought I would go over his house to make sure everything was all right."Mom, I'm going over Lucas's house I'll be back later tonight."

"Okay sweetie, not to late though, you know how I feel about that." I didn't reply and walked out the door and headed over to Lucas's house. He was only a couple of houses away, which I liked.

Once I got to his house I knocked on the door and let myself in. His parents were rarely home because they are always at work. So he tells me to let myself in whenever I want. "Lucas?" I looked around the house, it was quieter than usual. The silence made my heart squeeze from nerves. "Lucas?" I called again. I knocked on his bedroom door and then opened it. My heart felt like it was ripped out of my chest and stomped on a million times. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Lucas was making out with another girl. My eyes started to feel warm and I soon realized it was because they were filling up with water.

"Abby! What are you doing here?" Lucas said quickly. I didn't answer and began to leave but he grabbed my arm. "Don't go." I ripped my arm out of his grasp.

"How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me. How long has this been going on for?"

"I do Abby, I really do. She's nothing, she came over today...and."

"And what? You just decided to shove your tongue down her throat."

"It got out of hand. She came onto me." I was totally heartbroken. All guys say that the girl came onto him. How could I trust him? I didn't know if he was telling the truth or not.

"We need to take a break. I can't trust you right now." His eyes were full of regret. "I'll talk to you when I'm ready to." I stormed out of his house and broke down. I tried to pretend like I was strong and that I was just mad not hurt. I didn’t want to see how much of an impact he has on me. I didn’t want him to have the advantage but I couldn't believe what had just happened.

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"This island is awesome! Thank you so much for bringing me here, Courtney!" I said happily. Courtney brought me an amazing island called Iwahi. It was so different here than in New York.

"You’re welcome. I know how much you love to go to new places." I smiled and took in the scenery around me, the way the trees mimicked the winds movements, the way the sun glows in the sky, the way the waves crash onto the shore, it was just so amazing. It seemed different then how it was at home or maybe I’m just starting looking at things differently now that I’m older. All of a sudden I heard a soft, inviting voice that I can recognize. I looked over and a tall, skinny, black luscious haired man but most importantly I saw the amazing green sparkling eyes that I loved so much. It was Lucas talking to a guy I didn't know. I remember breaking up with him five years ago, how heartbroken I was but yet I still was in love with him.

"Courtney…its Lucas. He is here to! Maybe it’s fate. I been thinking about him so much and now he’s standing no more than ten feet from me." She looked behind her and saw Lucas. She shook her head; she never forgave him for what he did to me. She thought I was a fool to still be in love with him. “I need to tell him I forgive him and I still love him." Courtney didn’t reply. I knew she was thinking it was a mistake but I didn’t care. I took a deep breath and walked over to him.

“Lucas?” I said slowly. I didn’t know if he would want to talk to me or not. He didn’t answer right away which made me think I never got the words out and I was just thinking I did. I was about to say his name again when he finally answered.

“Abby?” He said excitedly, which made me feel a lot better. “I haven’t seen you in so long!” I smiled. The guy who was with Lucas walked away, letting us be alone. I observed how Lucas looked now compared to back then. He basically looked the same, his black hair was a little bit longer than before. He had facial hair now and his sideburns looked really good on him. He still had those sparkling gorgeous green eyes that I could never stop looking at.

“I wanted to tell you something.” My voice hinted out that I was a little bit nervous but I don’t think Lucas noticed.

“I wanted to tell you something too!” I pointed at him, telling him to go first. “I’m getting married!”

“Married?” I felt crushed. I was so stupid to think I could get back with him. I let the best thing in my life go and now I couldn't get him back. I bit my bottom lip. “I’m happy for you.” I tried to hide that I was upset about it.

“Yeah, she is fantastic. Trish come over here!” A tall girl with long wavy blonde hair with blue eyes, just like mine, came out from one of the nearby shops. He put his arm around her just like he used to do to me. “Abby this is my fiancée Trish. Trish this is my ex girlfriend Abby.” I smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Trish said. I didn’t even know when Lucas became into blondes. He was always into brunettes. He always said he loved my long brown, silky hair especially when it blew in the wind. I always thought it was a mess but he convinced me otherwise.

“It’s nice to meet you to.” I said trying to sound happy.

“Oh, so what did you want to tell me Abby?” Lucas asked curiously. He really wanted to know. He would always give me a certain look when he wanted me to tell him something and I would immediately give in but not this time.

“Oh nothing, it’s not important. Congratulations again.” I walked away and headed towards Courtney. The wind was blowing her short black hair behind her and making her dark green eyes water. It wasn't really cold out the wind just made it seem that way.

“How did that go?” I shook my head. I still can’t believe he’s getting married. “Did you tell him?” I shook my head again.

“He’s getting married.” I managed to say.

“Really? Are you okay?” I nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?” I shook my head. Talking about it was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to get him back. There has to be a way to get him back. I would think of something but for now I let the day wind down and go to sleep.

The next morning I woke up with blood shot eyes. I didn’t really sleep well because there was so much on my mind. I rinse some cold water on them and they seem to get a little bit better. Besides the blood shot eyes I was happy because I got an idea how to get Lucas back. I would get him back by looks. I put on the shortest pair of shorts I could find, a tank top that showed a little bit of my stomach, cowboy boots, and I threw my hair up in a high pony tail. Lucas always found that really attractive for whatever reason.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Courtney asked sounding confused. I looked down at my outfit.

"I like this outfit." She gave me a look; not believing that. "Fine...Lucas was always into this." She rolled her eyes. "Let's go out." I headed out and Courtney followed. While Courtney and I were looking at the shops, I saw Lucas with his fiancée Trish. I kept looking at the shops and talking to the shop keepers like they were invisible to me.

"I know." I said with confidence. I winked at him which made Trish shoot me a dirty look. She was very jealous; I could tell which means my plan was slowly but surely working.

"Lucas, let's go we have stuff to do." Trish only had anger in her voice. He nodded and waved goodbye to us but even though he was walking away his eyes were still dead locked on me.

"You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into." Courtney whispered. I shrugged. As the seconded day of our trip began to end I sat alone by the warm fire in the middle of the island. The people here say it warns the tribe in the nearby woods to stay away. Of course that is only a rumor.

"Abby can we talk?" I jumped at the sound of Lucas's voice behind me. I nodded and motioned for him to sit next to me. "What's with you lately? Since when do you dress like this anyway?”

"I'm not different." I ignored the other part of his question. I didn't want him to know I dressed like this for him. He looked at me without saying a word. "Shouldn't you go? Won't Trish be looking for you?" My voice sounded nasty unintentionally.

He seemed to ignore my tone and continued on with the question I asked him. "I told her I was going out for a walk. I wanted to talk to you and I want to stay friends with you." My eyes began to fill up with water but I quickly shook it off. "I want you and Trish to get along." I shook my head. "Why can't you be friends with her?" His voice had a tint of anger in it.

"Because I'm still totally in love with you! Don't you get it? Seeing you with her kills me. Why can’t you see that? All I want is you!" The words slipped out before I could take them back. Water seeped from my eyes, onto my cheek. I could tell he was speechless. "That's what I wanted to tell you. I just can't get over you." He placed his hand on my face and stroked my cheek.

"I never got over you. I still love you." I smiled. "I really should go though." I sighed and kissed him quickly and he kissed me back. He took a deep breath and left without another word. I walked back to the cabin and collapsed to my bed and didn’t get a wink of sleep that night.

"Abby! You up? There is a chick outside waiting for you." Courtney said worriedly. I staggered to my feet, threw on some clothes, and walked outside.

"Trish? What are you doing here?"

"Since you and Lucas are such good friends I thought I should get to know you. Come for a walk with me?" I nodded.

"Where are we going? We’re not supposed to be over here." I looked around and saw the woods ahead of us. The palm trees hung over one another as the grass covered the bottoms of them. It was overgrown but nobody would dare come close to this part of the village.

"Ah live a little. We won't go too far. I just want to see if these rumors are true." I froze and gave her a strange look. “How did you manage to be such great friends with Lucas? You’re a wimp!” I rolled my eyes.

"They aren't that's why they are called rumors." She shrugged and continued to walk into the woods. I walked next to her. My shoes were becoming filthy from the mud that trailed into the woods. Trish came to a short stop- making me almost run right into her. "Why are you stopping?"

"I overheard you talking to Lucas last night. I'm not going to let you take him away from me. With you out of the picture, nothing will come between us." I gulped. "Boys, she's all yours." A tribe of men all attacked me at once. I can't believe Trish knew these guys. Actually I can't believe she brought me here and knew the rumors were true.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" I screamed from fear. My throat felt like it was closed and I was suffocating. I actually began to sweat I was so scared.

She laughed at my struggles to get away. I can’t believe she is one of them. One big man threw me over his shoulder and began to take me back their village in the woods. "Let me go!" I kept hitting him on the back but it didn’t seem to faze him. Trish disappeared as we kept walking further and further into the woods. The grass was so high in this part of the woods I could brush it from the base of my finger tips. Soon we arrived at an area that was all dirt but there were tents and fires around. I assumed that this is where their camp was. The big guy chucked me onto to the ground and it felt like I just body slammed into the pool. It stung my entire body and my bones felt like they were rattling.

A thin man covered in hair from head to toe came over and tied my hands behind my back. My body ached from being thrown onto the floor. I was terrified."What are you going to do with me?" None of the men answered. "Let me go!" All of a sudden a sharp pain hits my stomach. I look up to see one of the men with a whip.

"You don't make the demands here." The man with the whip said coldly. I kept quiet but he kept whipping me over and over again. I couldn't help but scream in pain. These men specialized in torture, it was sickening. They burned every vulnerable part of my body, they broke my ribs, legs, and arms, and I wish they would just kill me already. All I could see was a pool of blood, all I could feel was pain, and all I could think about was death. The more they beat me the more the thought of begging for death consumed me.

The last thing I felt was a sharp, metal object go right through my body.

Next thing I knew I was looking at my body laying motionless on a sharp metal pole. You couldn’t even recognize me. My body was full of blood and burns. My legs arms and ribs were sticking out of my skin. My face was disfigured from being beaten and now a metal pole is in the middle of my body finally ending me of this horror.

I sighed in relief that the pain finally came to an end. I was happy the pain has ended but I couldn't believe that this was real. It all felt like a dream and I would just wake up but that was a funny thing to think. I knew the first thing I had to do was talk to Lucas. He had to be the first one to know what has happened.

I took a deep breath when found him in his cabin. He was alone and he seemed so upset, which broke my heart. "Lucas." He didn't hear me. I wasn't sure how the whole ghost thing worked yet. I blew some papers off his desk, trying to get his attention. He got a puzzled look on his face as he picked the papers back up and put them back on the desk. I picked up a pen when he wasn’t looking and wrote on a piece a paper.

"What the?" He picked up the paper and began to read it. He looked frightened. "A-Abby?" The contents of the letter was a basic start that it’s me and I’m dead.

"You can see me?" He didn’t say anything so I took that as a no. I wrote on another piece of paper letting him know too beware of Trish and that she brought me to my death.

"Trish did this to you?" I nodded even though he couldn’t see it "How?"

"The tribe rumors were true and she knew that. She brought me to them." I wrote. He looked so angry when he read it. I tried to place my hand on his face but I just went straight through him. He placed his hand on his face though like he felt it. "I thought you should know. I'm sorry.” That was the last thing I wrote.

I hated to see him like this. I’m glad I didn’t tell him the details of how I died because that would make things so much worse. Trish walked in moments later. She acted so happy, like she did nothing wrong. "So how was your walk Trish." Lucas said coldly.

"It was good, sorry I was gone for so long." It made me sick how someone could go on with life knowing that they are the reason someone is dead.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" She shook her head. "It's funny how you can lie to my face like that. Is there anything else you have lied to me about?"

"Lucas what are you talking about?"

"I know you killed her! How could you do that? You knew I was still in love with her? How could you even do that to somebody?" I never saw Lucas yell like this. I never really saw him mad. He was always so happy.

"I did it for us! So we could be happy!" He pushed her to the side.

"The wedding is off. I'm not going to marry an accomplice to murder." He stormed out of the cabin. I looked at Trish. She looked destroyed. I do believe she loved him but I don't believe she deserved him. I could have tried to get revenge on her. I thought about it for a little while but in the end that would just make me as sick as she was. It took about a month for Lucas to tell Courtney that I was dead. She was so destroyed, just like Lucas was. It made me feel bad that I got into this kind of trouble. Courtney did warn me but I would rather be dead than alone. The police tried looking for my body but never found it. They never found the tribe in the woods either. There camp was so hidden that I didn't think they would find it. Courtney and Lucas were always there for each after that. I'm glad they finally got along and had somebody to talk to. ~~~~~~

Three years later Lucas and Courtney ended up getting married. Turns out they had a lot in common. They were good for each other or at least that's what I kept telling myself. I watched Courtney live out the life I have always wanted. I guess it was never meant to be with Lucas. All that mattered now is that the two most important people in my life are happy.

As for Trish, she ended up going to jail for being an accomplice to murder. She got what she deserved. I had no sympathy for her. I truly believe in the end you get back exactly what you deserve.